3 dead, 20 injured in attack on U.N. base in Mali

Jessica Estepa, and Katharine Lackey

USA TODAY

A mortar attack on a United Nations base in northern Mali early Saturday left at least three people dead, including two peacekeepers, U.N. officials said.

Another 20 people were injured in the attack, which happened around 4 a.m. local time when rockets were fired at the base in Kidal, Mali, according to Olivier Salgado, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Mali. At least four of the wounded had serious injuries. A contractor was also killed.

Ansar Dine, a Islamic extremist group with ties to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, AFP reported. The terror organization receives support from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, according to the State Department.

The rocket fire came just eight days after 20 people were killed in an extremist attack on a luxury hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako. Three Islamist groups, including two affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the hotel assault.

In 2012, the northern part of Mali fell under the control of groups linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb, which had long operated in the region. France launched a military offensive in 2013, driving out those groups, but large areas of the country remain lawless and terrorized by the militants. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, was established in 2013.

“I want to reiterate that these attacks will not impede the determination of the United Nations to support the Malian people and the peace process,” Mongi Hamdi, the head of the U.N. mission, said in a statement. “I express my solidarity and salute the brave men and women serving (the U.N. mission) throughout the country for their efforts to bringing lasting peace to Mali in these difficult conditions.”

The nation has been targeted by militants in at least two other attacks this year. In August, 13 people were killed when gunmen attacked a hotel in Severe in central Mali. Five others died in March after masked gunmen attacked a restaurant in Bamako.